- 


f°.U.I^.Rl"E.GIONAl-  LIBRARY  FACILITY 


XV 


• 


UCSB   LIBRARY 


-  53881 


REQUEST  AT 
REFERENCE  DESK 
BY  ABOVE 
CALL  NUMBERS 


(UNCATALOGED) 


(Lib-295) 


THB 

PROGRESS  OF  GENIUS, 

OR 

AUTHENTIC   MEMOIRS   OF  THE   EARLY   LIFE 
OF 

BENJAMIN    WEST,    ESQ. 

President  of  the  Royal  Academy,  London. 


COMPILED  FROM  MATERIALS  FURNISHED  BY  HIMSELF, 

BY  JOHN  GALT. 

ABRIDGED  FOR  THE  USE  OF  YOUNG  PERSONS,  BY  A  LADY.- 
SECOND     EDITION. 


BOSTON: 

LEONARD      C.    BOWLES, 

18.32. 


Eutered  according  to  act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1830, 
by  Leonard  C.  Bowles,  in  the  Clerk's  office  of  the  District 
Court  of  Massachusetts. 


THE  INSPIRED  BOY. 


A  boy! — yet  in  his  eye  you  trace 

The  watchfulness  of  graven  years, 
And  tales  are  in  that  serious  face 
Of  feelings  early  steeped  in  tears; 

And  in  that  tranquil  gaze 
There  lingers  many  a  thought  unsaid — 

Shadows  of  other  days, 
Whose  hours  with  shapes  of  beauty  came  and  fted. 

And  sometimes  it  is  even  so — 

The  spirit  ripens  in  the  germ, 
The  new  sealed  fountains  overflow, 

The  bright  wings  tremble  in  the  morn. 
The  soul  detects  some  passing  token, 

Some  emblem  of  a  brighter  world, 
And  with  its  shell  of  clay  unbroken, 
Its  shining  pinions  arc  unfurled, 

And,  like  a  blessed  dream, 
Phantoms,  apparelled  from  the  sky, 

Athwart  its  vision  stream — 
As  if  the  light  of  heaven  had  touched  its  gifted  eye. 


IV 


"Tis  strange  how  childhood's  simple  words 

Interpret  nature's  mystic  book- 
How  it  will  listen  to  the  birds, 
And  ponder  on  the  running  brook, 

As  if  its  spirit  fed. 

And  strange  that  we  remember  not, 
Who  fill  its  eye  and  weave  its  lot, 

How  lightly  it  were  led 
Back  to  the  home  which  it  has  scarce  forgot 


THE  LIFE  OF  WEST. 


Benjamin  West,  the  subject  of  the 
following  memoir,  was  the  youngest  son 
of  John  West  and  Sarah  Pearson,  and 
was  born  near  Springfield,  in  Chester 
qounty,  in  the  State  of  Pennsylvania,  on 
the  10th  of  October,  1738.  About  the 
year  1667  the  family  from  which  Mr 
West  descended,  embraced  the  tenets 
of  the  quakers,  and  in  1699  they  emi- 
grated from  England  to  America. 

Thomas  Pearson,  the  maternal  grand- 
father of  the  artist,  was  the  confidential 
friend  of  William  Penn,  and  the  same 
person  to  whom  that  venerable  legisla- 
tor said  on  landing  in  America,  *  Provi- 


dence  has  brought  us  safely  hither;  thou 
hast  been  the  companion  of  my  perils, 
what  wilt  thou  that  I  should  call  this 
place  ?'  Mr  Pearson  replied,  that  'since 
he  had  honored  him  so  far  as  to  desire 
him  to  give  that  part  of  the  country  a 
name,  he  would,  in  remembrance  of  his 
native  city,  call  it  Chester.' 

The  exact  spot  where  these  patri- 
archs of  the  new  world  first  landed,  is 
still  pointed  out  with  reverence  by  the 
inhabitants. 

Mr  Pearson  built  a  house  and  formed 
a  plantation  in  the.  neighborhood  which 
he  called  Springfield,  in  consequence  of 
discovering  a  large  spring  of  water  in 
the  first  field  cleared  for  cultivation;  and 
it  was  near  this  spot  that  Benjamin 
West  was  born.  When  the  West  fami- 
ly emigrated,  John,  the  father  of  Benja- 
min, was  left  to  complete  his  education 
at  the  great  school  of  the  Quakers  at 


Uxbridge  and  did  not  join  his  relations 
in  America  till  the  year  1714.  Soon 
after  his  arrival  he  married  Sarah  Pear- 
son, the  mother  of  the  artist,  and  of  the 
worth  and  piety  of  his  character  we  have 
a  remarkable  proof  in  the  following 
transactions  which,  pephaps,  reflect  more 
real  glory  on  his  family  than  the  achieve- 
ments of  all  his  heroic  ancestors.  As  a 
part  of  the  marriage  portion  of  Mrs 
West,  he  received  a  negro  slave,  whose 
diligence  and  fidelity  very  soon  obtained 
his  full  confidence. 

Being  engaged  in  trade,  he  had  occa- 
sion to  make  a  voyage  to  the  West  In- 
dies, and  left  this  young  black  to  super- 
intend the  plantation,  or  farm,  in  his  ab- 
sence. During  his  residence  in  Barba- 
does,  his  feelings  were  greatly  hurt,  and 
his  principles  shocked,  by  the  cruelties 
to  which  he  saw  the  negroes  subjected 
in  that  island,  and  the  debasing  effects 


were  forcibly  contrasted  in  his  mind, 
with  the  morals  and  intelligence  of  his 
own  slave.  Conversing  on  this  subject 
with  Dr  Gammon,  who  was  then  at  the 
head  of  the  society  of  Friends  in  Barba- 
does,  the  Doctor  convinced  him  that  it 
was  contrary  to  ^the  laws  of  God  and 
nature  that  any  man  should  retain  his 
fellow  creatures  in  slavery.  This  con- 
viction could  not  rest  long  inactive  in  a 
character  formed  like  that  of  Mr  West. 
On  his  return  to  America  he  gave  the 
negro  his  freedom.  Not  satisfied  with 
doing  good  himself,  he  endeavored  to 
make  others  follow  his  example,  and  in 
a  short  time  his  example  had  such  an 
effect  on  his  neighbors,  that  after  some 
public  discussion  on  the  subject,  it  was 
resolved  by  a  considerable  majority  that 
it  was  the  duty  of  Christians  to  give 
freedom  to  their  slaves.  Their  example 
was  followed  by  the  Quakers  in  the 


township  of  Goshen,  in  Chester  county, 
and  finally,  about  the  year  1753,  the 
same  question  was  moved  in  the  annual 
general  assembly  at  Philadelphia,  when 
it  was  established  as  one  of  the  tenets 
of  the  Quakers,  that  no  person  could  re- 
main a  member  of  their  society  who 
held  a  human  creature  in  slavery,  thus 
making  a' great  public  sacrifice  of  their 
own  interests,  purely  from  moral  and 
religious  principle.  They  were  not  sat- 
isfied with  the  benevolent  work  of  re- 
storing their  natural  rights  to  the  unfor- 
tunate negroes,butthe  society  of  Friends 
went  further,  and  established  schools 
for  the  education  of  their  children;  and 
some  of  the  first  characters  among  them- 
selves volunteered  to  superintend  the 
course  of  instruction. 

The  first  six  years  of  Benjamin's  life 
passed  away  in  calm  uniformity;  leaving 
only  the  placid  remembrance  of  enjoy  - 
1* 


10 

ment.  In  the  month  of  June,  1745,  one 
of  his  sisters,  who  had  been  married 
some  time  before,  and  who  had  a  daugh- 
ter, came  with  her  infant  to  spend  a  few 
days  at  her  father's.  When  the  child 
was  asleep  in  the  cradle,  Mrs  West  in- 
vited her  daughter  to  gather  flowers  in 
the  garden,  and  committed  the  infant  to 
the  care  of  Benjamin,  during  their  ab- 
sence, giving  him  a  fan  to  flap  away  the 
flies  from  molesting  his  little  charge. 
Alter  some  time  the  child  happened 
to  smile  in  its  sleep,  and  its  beauty  at- 
tracted his  attention.  He  looked  at  it 
with  a  pleasure  he  had  never  before  ex- 
perienced, and  observing  some  paper  on 
a  table,  together  with  pens  and  red  and 
black  ink,  he  seized  them  with  agitation, 
and  endeavored  to  delineate  a  portrait ; 
although  at  this  period  he  had  never  seen 
an  engraving  or  a  picture,  and  was  only 
in  the  seventh  year  of  his  age. 


11 

Hearing  the  approach  pf  his  mother 
and  sister,  he  endeavored  to  conceal 
what  he  had  been  doing  ;  but  the  old  la- 
dy observing  his  confusion,  inquired 
what  he  was  about,  and  requested  him  to 
show  her  the  paper.  He  obeyed,  in- 
treating  her  not  to  be  angry.  Mrs  West, 
after  looking  some  time  at  the  drawing 
with  evident  pleasure,  said  to  her 
daughter,  *  I  declare  he  has  made  a  like- 
ness of  little  Sally,'  and  kissed  him  with 
much  fondness  and  satisfaction.  This 
encouraged  him  to  say,  that  if  it  would 
give  her  pleasure,  he  would  make  pic- 
tures of  the  flowers,  which  she  held  in 
her  hand,  for  the  instinct  of  his  genius 
was  now  awakened,  and  he  felt  that  he 
could  imitate  the  forms  of  those  things 
which  pleased  his  sight. 

The  drawing  was  shown  by  Mrs  West 
to  her  husband,  who  was  delighted  with 
this  early  indication  of  talent  in  his  son. 


12 

From  the  first  emigration,  in  1681,  the 
colony  of  quakers  had  continued  to 
thrive  with  a  rapidity  unknown  to  any 
other  European  settlements.  America 
had  been  chosen  by  their  ancestors,  as 
an  asylum  in  which  they  might  enjoy 
that  affectionate  intercourse,  which  their 
tenets  enjoined,  free  from  the  military 
influence,  and  political  jealousies  of 
England.  At  the  birth  of  Benjamin 
West  the  colony  had  obtained  great 
wealth,  and  the  population  was  increas- 
ing rapidly.  It  was  blest  in  the  maxim 
upon  which  it  had  been  founded  by  Wil- 
liam Penn,  and  the  effects  of  his  benefi- 
cence were  felt  throughout  the  settle- 
ment. In  the  houses  of  the  principal 
families,  unlimited  hospitality  formed  a 
part  of  their  regular  economy.  It  was 
the  custom  among  those,  who  resided 
near  the  highways,  after  supper,  and  the 
last  religious  exercise  of  the  evening,  to 


13 

make  a  large  fire  in  the  hall,  and  to  set 
out  a  table  with  refreshments  for  such 
travellers  as  might  have  occasion  to  pass 
during  the  night ;  and  when  the  families 
assembled  in  the  morning,  they  seldom 
(bund  that  their  tables  had  been  unvis- 
ited.  This  wras  particularly  the  case  at 
Springfield.  Poverty  was  never  heard 
of  in  the  land. 

William  Penn  and  many  of  his  friends 
•traced  their  lineage  to  the  ancient  and 
noble  families  of  England.  In  their  de- 
scendants the  pride  of  ancestn  was  so 
tempered  with  the  meekness  of  their  re- 
ligious tenets,  that  it  gave  a  sort  of  pa- 
triarchal dignitv  to  their  benevolence. 

D          ./ 

The  neighboring  Indians  mingled  safe 
and  harmless  among  the  Friends;  and  in 
the  annual  visits,  which  they  were  in  the 
practice  of  paying  to  the  plantations, 
they  raised  their  huts  in  the  fields  and 
orchards  without  asking  leave,  nor  were 


14 

they  ever  molested.  When  the  great 
founder  of  the  state  of  Pennsylvania 
marked  out  the  site  of  Philadelphia  in 
the  woods,  he  allotted  a  piece  of  ground 
for  a  public  library.  It  was  his  opinion 
that  the  few  hours  of  relaxation,  which 
the  first  settlers  enjoyed,  could  not  be 
better  improved  than  in  reading  good  and 
serious  books.  It  was  the  design  of  the 
quakers  to  make  mankind  wiser  and 
better,  but  they  were  unfriendly  to  the 
cultivation  of  taste,  and  no  works  of  im- 
agination were  admitted  into  their  libra- 
ry. The  fine  arts  were  likewise  uncul- 
tivated among  them,  so  that  in  the 
whole  Christian  world,  no  spot  was  ap- 
parently so  unlikely  to  produce  a  paint- 
er as  Pennsylvania.  It  might,  indeed, 
be  supposed  that  a  youth,  reared  in  the 
midst  of  boundless  forests,  tremendous 
waterfalls  and  mountains,  whose  sum- 
mits were  inaccessible  '  to  the  lightest 


15 

foot  and  wildest  wing,'  was  in  the  most, 
favorable  situation  to  imbibe  a  strong 
love  either  of  poetry  or  painting.  But 
beautiful  scenery,  though  it  charms  the 
taste,  refined  and  alive  to  its  influence, 
will  not  create  or  inspire  the  original  tal- 
ent for  poetry,  painting,  or  any  other  of 
the  fine  arts. 

Of  all  the  nations  of  Europe  the  Swiss 
are  the  least  poetical,  and  yet  the  scen- 
ery of  no  other  country  seems  so  well 
calculated  as  that  of  Switzerland  to 
awaken  the  imagination ;  and  Shak- 
speare,  the  greatest  of  all  modern  poets, 
was  brought  up  in  one  of  the  least  pic- 
turesque districts  of  England. 

Soon  after  the  occurrence  of  the  inci- 
dent we  have  related,  the  young  artist 
was  sent  to  a  school  in  the  neighborhood. 
During  his  hours  of  leisure  he  was  per- 
mitted to  draw  with  pen  and  ink ;  for  it 
did  not  occur  to  any  of  the  family  to  pro- 
vide him  with  better  materials. 


16 

In  the  course  of  the  summer  a  part)' 
of  Indians  came  to  pay  their  annual  visits 
to  Springfield,  and  being  amused  with 
the  sketches  of  birds  and  flowers  which 
Benjamin  showed  them,  they  taught  him 
to  prepare  the  red  and  yellow  colors 
with  which  they  painted  their  orna- 
ments. 

To  these  his  brother  added  blue  by 
giving  him  a  piece  of  indigo,  so  that  he 
was  thus  put  in  possession  of  the  three 
primary  colors. 

The  Indians  also  taught  him  to  be  an 
expert  archer,  and  he  was  sometimes  in 
the  practice  of  shooting  birds  for  mod- 
els, when  he  thought  that  their  plumage 
would  look  well  in  a  picture. 

His  drawings  at  length  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  neighbors;  and  some  of 
them  happening  to  regret  that  the  ar- 
tist had  no  pencils,  he  inquired  what 
kind  of  things  these  were,  and  they  were 


17 

described  to  him  as  small  brushes  made 
of  camel's  hair  fastened  in  a  quill.  As 
there  were,  however, no  camels  in  Amer- 
ica, he  could  not  think  of  any  substitute, 
till  he  happened  to  cast  his  eyes  on  a 
black  cat,  the  favorite  of  his  father; 
when,  in  the  tapering  fur  of  her  tail, 
he  discovered  the  means  of  supplying 
what  he  wanted.  He  immediately  arm- 
ed himself  with  his  mother's  scissors 
and  laying  hold  of  Grimalkin  with  all 
due  caution,  and  a  proper  attention  to 
her  feelings,  cut  off  the  fur  at  the  end 
of  her  tail,  and  with  this  made  his  first 
pencil.  But  the  tail  only  furnished  him 
.with  one,  which  did  not  last  long,  and  he 
soon  stood  in  need  of  a  further  supply. 
He  then  had  recourse  to  the  animal's 
back,  his  depredations  upon  which  were 
so  frequently  repeated,  that  his  father 
observed  the  altered  appearance  of  his 
favorite,  and  lamented  it,  as  the  effect 


18 

of  disease.  The  artist,  with  suitable 
marks  of  contrition,  informed  him  of  the 
true  cause  ;  and  the  old  gentleman  was 
so  much  amused  with  his  ingenuity,  that 
if  he  reproved  him,  it  was  certainly  not 
in  anger. 

In  the  following  year,  Mr  Pennington, 
a  merchant  of  Philadelphia,  who  was  re- 
lated to  the  West  family,  came  to  pay 
a  visit  to  Benjamin's  father.  This  gen- 
tleman was  also  a  quaker,  and  although 
very  strict  in  his  notions,  was  a  man  of 
pleasant  temper  and  indulgent  disposi- 
tion. He  noticed  the  drawings  of  birds 
and  flowers  round  the  room,  unusual  or- 
naments in  the  house  of  a  quaker  ;  and 
heard  with  surprise  they  were  the  work 
of  his  little  cousin.  He  did  not  pretend 
to  be  a  good  judge  of  painting,. but  he 
thought  them  wonderful  productions  for 
a  boy  only  entering  on  his  eighth  year, 
and  being  told  with  what  poor  materials 


19 

little  Benjamin  had  been  furnished,  he 
promised  to  send  him  a  box  of  paints  and 
pencils  from  the  city.  On  his  return 
home  he  fulfilled  his  engagement,  and  at 
the  bottom  of  the  box  placed  several 
pieces  of  canvas  prepared  for  the  pain- 
ter, and  six  beautiful  engravings. 

The  arrival  of  the  box  was  an  era  in 
the  history  of  the  painter  and  his  art. 
It  was  received  with  feelings  of  delight 
which  cannot  be  described.  He  opened 
it,  and  in  the  colors,  the  oils  and  the  pen- 
cils, found  all  his  wants  supplied,  even 
beyond  his  utmost  conception.  But 
who  can  tell  the  surprise  with  which  he 
beheld  the  engravings ;  he  who  had 
never  seen  any  picture  but  his  own  draw- 
ings, nor  knew  that  such  an  art  as  the 
engraver's  existed !  He  sat  over  the 
box  with  admiring  eyes  ;  his  mind  was 
in  a  flutter  of  joy, — and  he  could  not 
refrain  from  constantly  touching  the  dif- 


20 

ferent  articles  to  ascertain  if  they  were 
real. 

At  night  he  placed  the  box  on  a  chair 
near  his  bed,  and  as  often  as  he  forgot 
his  prize,  in  sleep,  he  started  suddenly 
and  stretched  out  his  hand  to  satisfy 
himself  that  the  possession  of  such  a 
treasure  was  not  merely  a  pleasing 
dream.  He  rose  at  the  dawn  of  day, 
and  carried  the  box  to  a  room  in  the 
garret,  where  he  spread  a  canvas,  pre- 
pared a  pallet,  and  immediately  began 
to  imitate  the  figures  in  the  engravings. 
Enchanted  by  his  employment,  he  for- 
got the  school  hours,  and  joined  the  fam- 
ily at  dinner  without  mentioning  the 
manner  in  which  his  forenoon  had  been, 
passed. 

In  the  afternoon  he  again  repaired  to 
his  study  in  the  garret,  and  for  several 
successive  days  he  thus  withdrew  and 
devoted  himself  to  painting.  The 


21 

schoolmaster,  observing  his  absence, 
sent  to  ask  the  cause  of  it.  Mrs  West 
recollected  that  she  had  seen  Benjamin 
going  upstairs  every  morning,  and  sus- 
pecting that  the  box  occasioned  his  neg- 
lect of  the  school,  went  to  the  garret  and 
found  him  employed  on  the  picture. 
Her  anger  was  appeased  by  the  sight  of 
his  performance,  and  changed  to  a  very 
different  feeling.  He  had  not  conde- 
scended to  copy  a  single  engraving, 
but  had  selected  the  most  striking  fea- 
tures from  a  number,  and  by  combining 
and  arranging  them  with  wonderful 
taste  and  accuracy,  had  composed  a  pic- 
ture as  complete,  in  the  arrangement  of 
the  several  parts  and  coloring  of  the 
whole,  as  the  most  skilful  artist  could 
have  painted,  under  the  direction  of  a 
finished  master. 

His  mother  kissed  him  with  transports 
of  affection,  and  assured  him  that  she 


22 

would  not  only  intercede  with  his  father 
to  pardon  him  for  having  absented  him- 
self from  school,  but  would  go  herself  to 
the  master,  and  beg  that  he  might  not 
be  punished.  This  delightful  kindness 
and  approbation,  thus  bestowed,  encour- 
aged the  young  painter  to  greater  ef- 
forts ;  but  who  will  not  regret  that  the 
mother's  over  anxious  admiration  would 
not  suffer  him  to  finish  the  picture,  lest 
he  should  spoil  what  she  thought  was 
already  perfect,  even  with  half  the  can- 
vas bare.  Sixtyseven  years  afterwards 
Mr  West  had  the  gratification  of  seeing 
this  piece  in  the  same  room,  with  his 
sublime  painting  of  '  Christ  Rejected,7 
on  which  occasion  he  declared  that  there 
were  inventive  touches  of  art  in  his  first 
juvenile  essay,  which  with  all  the  know- 
ledge and  experience  he  afterwards  ac- 
quired,he  had  never  been  able  to  surpass. 


23 

In  the  course  of  a  few  days  after  the 
affair  of  the  painting,Mr  Pennington  paid 
another  visit  to  Mr  West,  and  was  so 
pleased  with  the  effect  of  his  present  and 
the  promising  talents  of  his  young  rel- 
ative, that  he  intreated  the  old  gentle- 
man to  a<llow  Benjamin  to  accompany  him 
for  a  few  days  to  Philadelphia.  This 
was  cheerfully  agreed  to,  and  the  ar- 
tist felt  himself  almost  as  much  delight- 
ed with  the  journey  as  with  the  box  of 
colors.  Everything  in  the  ^town  filled 
him  with  astonishment;  but  the  view  of 
the  shipping,  which  was  entirely  new, 
particularly  attracted  his  eye,  and  inter- 
ested his  imagination.  When  the  first 
emotion  of  his  pleasure  and  wonder  had 
subsided,  he  applied  to  Mr  Pennington 
to  procure  him  materials  for  painting. 
That  gentleman  was  desirous  of  getting 
possession  of  the  first  picture,  and  had 
only  resigned  his  claims,  in  consideration 


24 

of  the  mother's  feelings,  and  on  being 
assured  that  the  next  picture  should 
be  painted  purposely  for  him.  The 
materials  were  procured,  and  the  artist 
composed  a  landscape,  which  compre- 
hended a  picturesque  view  of  a  river, 
with  vessels  on  the  water,  and  cattle 
pasturing  on  the  bank. 

While  he  was  engaged  in  this  picture 
an  incident  occurred  which  though  trivial 
in  itself,  had  so  much  influence,  in  giv- 
ing a  decided  bent  to  his  genius,  that 
it  ought  not  to  be  omitted. 

Samuel  Shoemaker,  an  intimate 
friend  of  Mr  Pennington,  and  one  of  the 
principal  merchants  in  Philadelphia, 
happened  to  meet  in  the  street  with 
one  Williams,  a  painter,  carrying  home  a 
picture.  He  was  struck  with  the  beauty 
of  the  painting,  and  inquired  if  it  was 
intended  for  sale,  and  being  told  that 
it  was  already  sold,  he  ordered  another 


to  be  painted  for  himself.  When  the 
painting  was  finished,  he  requested  Mr 
Williams  to  carry  it  to  his  friend's,  Mr 
Pennington's  house,  in  order  that  it 
might  be  shown  to  young  West.  He 
was  so  much  astonished  at  the  sight  of  it, 
and  betrayed  so  much  emotion  and 
delight,  that  Mr  William's  observation 
was  attracted  toward  him,  no  doubt 
with  a  good  deal  of  interest  and  sym- 
pathy. He  entered  into  conversation 
with  him,  an$l  inquired  if  he  had  read 
any  books,  or  the  lives  "of  great  men. 
Young  West  told  him  that  he  had  read 
the  Bible,  and  was  well  acquainted  with 
the  history  of  Adam,  Joseph,  David, 
Solomon,  and  the  other  great  and  good 
men  whose  actions  are  recorded  in 
the  Holy  Scriptures.  Williams  was 
much  pleased  with  the  simplicity  of 
the  answer;  and  it  might  have  oc- 
curred to  him  that  histories  more  in- 
2 


26 

teresting  have  never  been  written,  or 
written  so  well.  Turning  to  Mr  Pen- 
nington,  who  was  present,  he  asked  if 
Benjamin  was  his  son,  advising  him  at 
the  same  time  to  indulge  him  in  his  pres- 
ent pursuits,  assuring  him  that  he  was 
no  common  boy;  he  afterwards  lent  him 
the  works  of  Fresnoy  and  Richardson  on 
painting  and  invited  him  to  see  his  pic- 
tures and  drawings.  The  effect  which 
these  books  had  on  the  imagina- 
tion of  West,  finally  decided  his 
destination.  'He  was  allowed  to  carry 
them  with  him  into  the  country;  and 
his  father  and  mother  soon  observed  a 
great  change  in  his  style  of  conversa- 
tion produced  by  his  study  of  the  books 
we  have  named — their  effect  on  his  mind, 
nray  be  conceived  of,  by  the  following 
incident.  Soon  after  the  artist  had  re- 
turned to  Springfield,  one  of  his  school 
fellows,  on  a  Saturday's  half-holiday, 


27 

engaged  him  to  give  up  a  party  at  trap- 
ball  to  ride  with  him  to  one  of  the  neigh- 
boring farms.  At  the  time  appointed  the 
boy  came,  with  the  horse  saddled. 
West  inquired  how  he  was  to  ride, '  Be- 
hind me,'  said  the  boy  ;  but  Benjamin, 
full  of  the  dignity  of  the  profession  to 
which  he  felt  himself  destined,  answered 
that  he  would  never  ride  behind  any  body. 
'  O!  very  well  then,'  said  the  good  na- 
tured  boy, <  you  may  take  the  saddle, 
and  I  will  get  up  behind  you.'  Thus 
mounted  they  proceeded  on  their  way; 
and  the  boy  began  to  tell  Benjamin  that 
bis  father  intended  to  send  him  to  be  an 
apprentice.  'In  what  business?' inquir- 
ed West.  '  A  tailor,'  answered  the  boy. 
'Surely,  said  West  you  will  never  follow 
that  trade;'  telling  him  at  the  same  time 
that  it  was  fit  employment  only  for  fe- 
males. The  boy  was  a  shrewd  sound- 
headed  lad  and  defended  his  fathers 


28 

choice  very  stoutly,  saying  that  the  per- 
son with  whom  he  was  to  learn  the  bus- 
iness was  much  respected  by  all  his 
neighbors. 

1  But  what  do  you  intend  to  be  Benja- 
min?'West  answered,  that  he  should  like 
to  be  a  painter.  'A  painter!'  exclaimed 
the  boy,  '  what  sort  of  a  trade  is  a  pain- 
ter ?  I  never  heard  of  such  a  thing.' 
'A  painter, '  said  West, '  is  a  companion, 
for  kings  and  emperors.  '  '  Surely  you 
are  mad, '  replied  the  boy,  '  for  there  are 
no  such  people  in  America;  ' '  Very  true, 
answered  Benjamin, (  but  there  are  plen- 
ty in  other  parts  of  the  world.  '  The 
other  still  more  amazed,  repeated  in  a 
tone  of  greater  surprise, 4  you  are  surely 
quite  mad.  '  To  this  the  young  artist, 
still  proud  of  his  own  choice,  replied  by 
asking  him  if  he  really  intended  to  be 
a  tailor.  '  Most  certainly,'  answered  the 
other.  '  Then  you  may  ride  by  your- 
self, for  I  will  no  longer  keep  your  com- 


29 

pany, '  said  West,  jumping  from  the 
horse,  and  immediately  returned  home. 

The  report  of  this  incident,  with  the 
affair  of  the  picture,  which  had  occa- 
sioned his  absence  from  school,  and  visit 
to  Philadelphia,  made  a  great  impression 
on  the  boys  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Springfield.  All  their  accustomed  sports 
were  neglected,  and  their  play  hours  de- 
voted to  drawing  with  chalk  and  oker. 
Benjamin  it  must  be  confessed  was  the 
most  expert  amons;  them,  but  he  often 
afterwards  declared,  that,  according  to 
his  recollection,  many  of  his  juvenile 
companions,  evinced  a  degree  of  taste 
and  skill  in  this  exercise,  that  would 
have  done  no  discredit  to  the  students 
of  any  regular  academy. 

Not  far  from  the  residence  of  Mr 
West  a  cabinet  maker  had  a  shop,  in 
which  Benjamin  sometimes  amused  him- 
self with  the  tools  of  the.  workmen.  One 


.    30 

day  several  large  and  beautiful  boards  of 
poplar  tree  were  brought  to  it ;  and  he 
happening  to  observe  that  they  would 
answer  very  well  for  drawing  on,  the 
owner  gave  him  two  or  three  of  them  for 
the  purpose,  and  he  drew  figures,  and 
compositions  on  them  with  ink,  chalk 
and  charcoal. 

Mr  Wayne,  a  gentleman  of  the  neigh- 
borhood, having  soon  after  occasion  to 
call  at  his  father's,  noticed  the  boards 
in  the  room,  and  was  so  much  pleased 
with  the  drawing,  that  he  begged  the 
young  artist  to  allow  him  to  take  two  or 
three  of  them  home,  which,  as  but  little 
value  was  set  on  them,  was  thought  no 
great  favor,  either  by  the  painter  or  his 
father.  Next  day  Mr  Wayne  called 
again,  and  after  complimenting  Benja- 
min on  his  taste  and  proficiency,  gave 
him  a  dollar  for  each  of  the  boards, 
svhich  he  had  taken  away,  and  intended 
to  preserve. 


31 

Doctor  Jonathan  Morris,  another 
neighbor,  soon  after  also  made  him  a 
present  of  a  few  dollars  to  buy  materials 
to  paint  with.  These  were  the  first  pub- 
lic patrons  of  the  artist. 

About  twelve  months  after  the  visit  to 
Philadelphia,  Mr  Flower,  one  of  the 
justices  of  the  county  of  Chester,  who 
*  possessed  some  taste  for  painting,  re- 
quested Mr  West  to  allow  Benjamin  to 
spend  a  few  weeks  at  his  house.  A 
short  time  before,  this  gentleman  had 
lost  an  amiable  wife,  to  whom  he  was 
most  tenderly  attached  ;  and  he  resolved 
to  show  his  respect  to  her  memory  by 
devoting  his  attention  exclusively  to  the 
improvement  of  his  children  ;  for  this 
purpose  he  had  sent  to  England  for  a 
governess  qualified  to  undertake  the  ed- 
ucation of  his  daughters,  and  he  had  the 
good  fortune  to  obtain  a  lady  eminently 
fitted  for  the  trust.  She  arrived  only  a 


32 

few  days  before  the  young'  artist — but 
she  soon  discovered  the  bent  of  Benja- 
min's genius,  and  the  strength  and  de- 
termination of  his -mind.  Finding  him 
unacquainted  with  any  other  books  than 
the  Bible,  and  the  works  of  Richardson 
and  Fresnoy,  she  frequently  invited  him 
to  sit  with  her  pupils,  and  during  the 
intervals  of  their  tasks,  she  read  to  him  1 
the  most  striEing  passages  from  ancient 
history  and  poetry.  It  was  from  this 
intelligent  women  that  he  jbeard,  for 
the  first  time,  of  the  Greeks  and  Ro- 
mans, and  the  impression  which  the 
history  of  those  illustrious  nations  made 
on  his  mind,  was  answerable  to  her 
expectations. 

Among  the  acquaintance  of  Mr  Flow- 
er was  a  Mr  Ross,  a  lawyer  in  the  town 
of  Lancaster,  a  placeJ^P  that  time  re- 
markable for  its  wealth,  and  which  had 
the  reputation  of  posseting  the  best  and 


most  intelligent  society  in  America, 
those  who  knew  how  to  distinguish  real 
genius,  from  mere  mechanical  art.  It 
was  exactly  in  such  a  place  that  such  a 
youth  as  Benjamin  West  was  likely  to 
meet  with  that  flattering  attention, 
which  is  the  greatest  stimulous  to  juve- 
nile talent.  The  wife  of  Mr  Ross  was 
greatly  admired  for  her  beauty,  and  she 
had  several  children  who  were  so  remark- 
able in  this  respect  as  to  be  the  objects 
of  general  notice.  One  day  when  Mr 
Flower  was  dining  with  them  he  advis- 
ed his  friend  to  have  their  portraits 
taken,  and  mentioned  that  they  would 
be  excellent  subjects  for  young  West. 
They  accordingly  obtained  permission 
of  Mr  West  for  the  little  arti^Pto  go 
to  Lancaster,  for  the  purpose  of  taking 
the  likeness  of  Mrs  Ross  and  her  fam- 
ily— so  great  was  his  success  in  this 
undertaking  that  ir  was  with  difficulty 
2* 


p 

34 

be  could  answer  the  demand  for  por- 
traits; among  those  who  applied  to  him 
was  a  person  named  William  Henry,  an 
able  mechanic,  who  had  acquired  a 
handsome  fortune  by  his  profession  of  a 
gunsmith.  Oil  examining  the  young 
artist's  performance,  he  told  him  that, 
if  he  could  paint  as  well  he  w-ould  not 
waste  his  time  on  portraits,  but  would 
devote  his  time  and  talents  to  some 
historical  piece,  and  mentioned  the 
death  of  Socrates  as  a  good  subject, 
The  painter  knew  nothing  of  the  history 
of  the  philosopher;  and  upon  confessing 
his  ignorance,  Mr  Henry,  took  a  volume 
of  Plutarch's  lives  and  read  to  him  the 
account  given  bv  that  writer  of  this  af- 

«' 

fecting  story.  The  description  produc- 
ed a  great  effect  on  the  imagination  of 
young  West,  and  induced  him  to  make 
a  drawing,  which  Mr  Henry  approved 
and  requested  him  to  paint.  West  said 


35 

he  should  be  happy  to  undertake  the 
task,  but  having  only  painted  faces,  and 
men  clothed,  he  should  be  unable  to  do 
justice  to  the -slave,  who  presented  the 
poison  to  Socrates,  and  which  he 
thought  ought  to  be  naked.  Henry  had 
among  his  workmen  a  very  handsome 
young  man,  and  without  hesitating  a 
moment  he  sent  for  him  into  the  room. 
On  his  entrance  he  pointed  him  out  to 
West,  and  said  *  there  is  your  model.' 
The  appearance  of  the  young  man, 
whose  arms  and  breast  were  naked,  con- 
vinced the  artist  that  he  had  only  to 
look  into  nature  for  the  best  of  models. 
When  the  death  of  Socrates  was  finish- 
ed, it  attracted  much  attention,  and  led 
to  his  fortunate  acquaintance  with  Dr 
Smith,  the  provost  of  the  college  at 
Philadelphia.  After  seeing  the  picture 
and  conversing  with  the  artist,  he  offer- 

O  7 

ed  -to  undertake-  <to  make  him,  to  a  cer- 


36 

tain  degree,  acquainted  with  classical 
literature;  while  at  the  same  time  he 
would  give  him  such  a  sketch  of  the 
taste  and  spirit  of  antiquity  as  would 
have  all  the  effect  of  the  regular  educa- 
tion requisite  for  a  painter. 

Old  Mr  West  readily  consented  that 
his  son  should  go  for  some  time  to  Phil- 
adelphia to  take  advantage  of  the  pro- 
vost's instructions,  and  accordingly  af- 
ter returning  home  for  a  few  days,  Ben- 
jamin went  to  the  capital,  and  resided 
at  the  house  of  his  brother-in-law,  Mr 
Clarkson,  a  gentleman  who  had  been 
educated  at  Leyden,  and  was  much  re- 
spected for  the  intelligence  of  his  con- 
versation and  the  propriety  of  his  man- 
ners. 

The  plan  of  study  which  provost 
Smith  had  formed  for  his  pupil  was  ex- 
tremely judicious.  He  regarded  him 
as  destined  to  be  a  painter;  and  on  this 


37 

account  did  not  impose  upon  him  those 
grammatical  exercises  of  language, 
which  are  usually  required  from  the 
young  student  of  the  classics,  but  direct- 
ed his  attention  to  those  incidents  which 
were  likely  to  interest  his  fancy  and  fur- 
nish him  at  some  future  time  subjects 
for  the  easel.  In  the  midst  of  this 
course  of  education  the  artist  happened 
to  be  taken  ill  of  a  slight  fever,  and 
when  it  had  subsided,  he  was  in  so  weak 
a  state  as  to  be  obliged  to  keep  his  bed, 
and  to  have  the  room  darkened.  In  this 
situation  he  remained  several  days,  with 
no  other  light  than  what  was  admitted 
by  the  cracks  in  the  window  shutters, 
which  had  the  usual  effect  of  expanding 
the  pupils  of  his  eyes  to  such  a  degree, 
that  he  could  distinctly  see  every  object 
in  the  room,  which  to  others  appeared 
in  perfect  obscurity.  While  he  was 
thus  lying  in  bed,  he  observed  the  shad- 


38 

owy  form  of  a  white  cow  enter  at  one 
side  of  the  roof,  and  walking  over  the 
bed,  gradually  vanish  at  the  other. 
This  appearance  surprised  him  not  a 
iittle,  and  he  feared  his  disease  had  de- 
ranged his  mind,  which  his  sister  also 
suspected,  when  he  related  to  her  what 
he  had  seen.  She  went  immediately 
and  informed  her  husband,  who  accom- 
panied her  back  to  the  chamber;  and  as 
they  were  standing  near  the  bed  West 
repeated  the  story;  declaring,  at  the 
same  moment,  that  he  saw  several  lit- 
tle pigs  running  along  'the  roof.  This 
confirmed  their  fears,  that  he  was  delir- 
ious, and  they  sent  for  a  physician. 
But  the  doctor  could  discover  no  symp- 
toms of  a  fever,  the  pulse  was  regular, 
the  skin  moist  and  cool,  the  thirst  abat- 
ed, and  everything  about  the  patient 
favorable  to  his  recovery.  Still  the 
painter  persisted  in  his  story,  and  assur- 


39 

ed  them  that  he  then  saw  the  figures  of 
several  of  their  mutual  friends  passing 
on  the  roof  over  his  bed;  and  that  he 
even  saw  fowls  picking,  and  the  very 
stones  of  the  street.  All  this  time  his 
friends  could  discern  nothing  of  all  he 
described,  their  eyes  being  unaccustom- 
ed to  the  gloom  of  the  chamber,  and 
the  learned  physician  himself  began  to 
suspect  that  his  patient  was  really  delir- 
ious, and  prescribing  a  composing  mix- 
ture, which  the  painter  submitted  to 
swallow,  took  his  leave,  requesting  Mrs 
Clarkson  and  her  husband  to  come  a- 
way  and  not  disturb  the  painter.  Af- 
ter they  had  all  left  him,  curiosity  over- 
came the  effect  oT  the  medicine,  and 
the  artist  got  up,  determined  to  find  out 
the  cause  of  this  strange  appearance. 
In  a  short  time  he  di^^vered  a  knot- 
hole in  one  of  the  wind^B^hutters,  and 
upon  placing  his  hand  oro  it,  the  vis- 


40 

ionary  paintings  on  the  roof  disappear- 
ed.    He  then   began   to   think   there 
must  be  some  simple  natural  cause   for 
what  he  had  seen;  and  having  found  out 
the  way  in  which  it  acted,    he   called 
his  sister  and  her  husband  into  the  room 
and  explained  it  to  them.     When  able 
to  go  down   stairs  Mr  Clarkson   gave 
him  permission  to  cyt  a  horizontal  hole 
in  the  shutter  in  order  to  obtain,  on  the 
wall, a  representation  of  the  buildings  on 
the  other  side  of  the  street.     The  effect 
was  as  he  expected,  but,  to  his   aston- 
ishment, the  objects  appeared  inverted, 
and  every  one  who  passed,  to  be  walk- 
ing on  his  head.     He  did  not  then  un- 
d^rstand  how  this  m^ht   be  remedied, 
but  on   his    return    soon    after    to    his 
father's,  he  had  a  box  made  with  a  hole 
in  one  of  the  sides,  and  adverting  to  the* 
reflectiva  pogBof  the  mirror,  he  con- 
trived, withourever  having  heard  of  the 


41 

instrument,  to  invent  a  Camera,  which 
he  found  of  great  use  to  him,  as  the 
means  of  studying  the  picturesque  ap- 
pearance of  nature,  and  he  hailed  the 
discovery  as  a  revelation  to  promote  his 
improvement  in  the  art  of  painting. 

In  this  favorable  state  of  things  he 
attained  his  IGth  year,  when  his  father 
became  anxious  to  seP  him  settled  in 
some  established  business,  for  though 
he  had  been  indulgent  to  the  genius  of 
his  son,  the  old  gentleman  was  sensible 
that  the  profession  of  a  painter  was  not 
only  precarious,  but  regarded  unfavora- 
bly by  thereligh  >"ty  of  which  he 
was  a  member:  a;  was  anxious  on 
his  son's  accounqQPRRFcm  his  ov 
avoid  those  observations  to  w.jhicl 
was  exposed  by  the  freedom  he  had 
hitherto  granted  to  the  predilections  of 
Benjamin.  He  therefore-consulted  sev- 

V 

eral  of  his  neighbors  on  tBf* subject;  and 


a  meeting  of  the  society  of  Friends  in 
the  vicinity  was  called,  to  consider  pub- 
licly, what  ought  to  be  the  destiny  of 
his  son. 

The  assembly  mfet  in  the  meeting 
house  near  Springfield,  and  after  much 
debate,  approaching  to  altercation,  a 
man  of  the  name  of  John  Williamson 
rose  and  deliver*  a  very  extraordinary 
speech  upon  the  Mi!>ject.  He  was 
much  respected  by  all  present,  for  the 
purity  and  integrity  of  his  life,  and 
enjoyed  great  influence  on  account  of 
his  superior  natural  wisdom,  and  an  as- 
tonishing gift  of  eloquence,  as  a  public 
preacher  among  the  Friends. 

He  pointed  to  old  Mr  West  and  his 
wife,  and  expatiated  on  the  blameless 
reputation  they  had  so  long  maintained, 
and  merited  so  vrell. 

*  They  hajBJhad,'  said  he,  '  ten  chil- 
dren whom  tH!y  have  carefully  brought 


43 

up  in  the  fear  of  God  and  in  the  chris- 
tian  religion,  and  the  youth  whose  lot 
in  life  we  are  now  convened  to  consid- 
er, is  Benjamin,    their  youngest  child, 
It  is  known  to  you  all  that  God  is  pleas-* 
ed,  from  time  to  time,  to  bestow   upon 
some  men  extraordinary  gifts  of  mind, 
and  you  need  not  be  told  by  how  wonder- 
ful an  inspiration  their  son  has  been  led 
to  cultivate  the  art  of  painting.   It  is  true 
that  our  tenets  deny  the  utility  of  that 
art  to  mankind.     But  God  has  bestow- 
ed on  this  youth  a  genius  for  the  art,  and 
can    we  believe  that  Omniscience  be- 
stows  his  gifts ,  but  for  great  purpos- 
es?    What  God  has  given,  who    shall 
dare  to    throw   away?     Let  us  not  es- 
timate almighty  wisdom  by  ournotions; 
let  us  not  presume  to  arraign  his  judg- 
ment by  our  ignorance,  but  in  the  evi- 
dent propensity  af  the  young  man,  be 
assured  that*6  see  an  iinpulse  of  the 


44 

divine    hand   operating  towards   some 
high  and  beneficent  end.' 

The  effect  of  this  argument,  and  the 
lofty  manner  in  which  it  was  delivered, 
induced  the  assembly  to  agree  that  the 
young  artist  should  follow  the  bent  of  his 
genius;  and  a  private  meeting  of  the 
Friends  was  appointed  to  be  holden  at 
his  father's  house,  at  which  the  youth 
himself  was  requested  to  be  present,  in 
order  to  receive  the  assent  and  blessing 
of  the  society. 

On  the  day  of  meeting,  the  great  room 
was  put  in  order,  and  a  numerous  com- 
pany of  both  sexes  assembled.  Benja- 
min was  placed  by  his  father,  and  the 
men  and  \\omen  took  their  respective 
i'omisH|each  side.  After  sitting  some 
lime  in  silence,  one  of  the  women  arose 
and^addn  ssed  the  mating,  on  the  wis- 
dom of  God  and  the  ^rious  occasions 

in  which  he  selected  fro^  among  his 

* 

^ 


.     45 

creatures   the  agents  of  his  goodness. 
When  she  had  concluded,  John  Will- 
iamson also  arose,  and  in  a  speech  of 
most  impressive  oratory,   resumed  the 
topic,  which  had  been  the  subject  of  his 
former  address.     At  the  conclusion  of  I 
this  address,  the  women  rose  and  kissed 
the  young  artist,  and  the  men  one  by 
one,   laid  their  hands  on  his  head,  and/ 
prayed   that  the  Lord  might  verify  ii 
his  life  the  value  of  the  gift  which  hac 
induced  them,  in  despite  of  their  relig- 
ious tenets,    to  allow   him  to  cultivate 
the   faculties  of  his  genius.     The   his- 
tory of  no  other  individual  affords  an  in- 
cident  so    extraordinary.     It  may   be 
added  that  a  more  beautiful  instance  of 
liberality  is  not  to  be  foi;nd  in  the  rec- 
ords of  any  religious  society.     There  is 
something  at  once  simple  and  venerable 
in  the  humility  with  which  they  regard- 
ed  their  own  peculiar  principles,  con- 


46 

trasted  with  the  sublime  view  they  ap- 
peared to  take  of  the  wisdom  and  prov- 
idence of  the  Deity.     It  would   be  im- 
possible to  convey  any  idea  of  the  sen- 
timents and  feelings  with   which  it  af- 
fected the  youth  who  was  the  object  of 
its  exercise.     It  inspired   him  with  a 
lofty  desire   to  attain   eminence   in  his 
profession,  nor  did  he  forget  in  the  hon- 
ors which  he  afterwards  received  from 
all  polished  nations,  that  he  was  author- 
ized bv  his  friends  and  his  religion,   to 
cultivate  the  art  by  which  he  obtained 
such  distinctions,  not  for  his  own  sake, 
but  as  an  Instrument  chosen  by  Provi- 
dence to  dejseminate  the  arts  of  peace, 
to  draw  the  ties  of  affection  closer,  and 
diffuse  over  a  \vider  extent  of  communi- 
ty the  interests  and  blessings  of  pater- 
nal love. 

When  it  was  determined  among  tbe 
Friends  that  Benjamin  West  should  be 


47 

allowed  to  cultivate  the  art  of  paining, 
he  went  to  Lancaster,  but  was  hastily 
recalled  by  a  severe  domestic  misfor- 
tune. His  mother  was  seized  by  a  dan- 
gerous illness,  and  being  conscious  that 
she  could  not  live  long,  she  requested 
that  he  might  be  sent  for  home. 

Benjamin  hastily  obeyed  the  sum- 
mons, but  before  he  reached  the  house, 
her  strength  was  exhausted,  and  she 
was  only  able  to  express  by  her  counte- 
nance the  satisfaction  with  which  she 
saw  him  approach  the  bed,  before  she 
expired. 

Her  funeral,  and  the  distress  which 
the  event  occasioned  to  her  family,  by 
all  of  whom  she  was  most  tenderly  be- 

•/ 

loved,  detained  the   young  artist  some 
time  at  his  father's.     About  the  end  of 
August  1756,  however,  he  took  his  final 
departure,  and  went  to  Philadelphia. 
But  before  proceeding  with  the  nar- 


48 

rative  of  his  professional  career,  it  is 
neccessary  to  refer  to  the  public  tran- 
sactions of  that  period,  by  which  his 
sensibility  was  powerfully  excited. 

After  the  destruction  of  Gen.  Brad- 
dock's  army  the  Pennsylvanians  being 
alarmed  at  the  defenceless  state  in 
which  they  were  placed  by  that  calam- 
ity, they  resolved  to  raise  a  militia  force; 
and  Mr  Wayne,  who  has  been  already 
mentioned  as  a  friend  to  West,  was  ap- 
pointed colonel  of  the  regiment  raised 
in  Chester  county.  This  defensive 
measure  was  painfully  felt  by  the  peace- 
ful quakers,  as  it  indicated  an  alteration 
in  their  harmless  manners  and  habits, 
so  averse  to  war  and  strife.  West, 
among  others,  Went  to  view  the  first 
muster  of  the  troops  under  the  com- 
mand of  Col.  Wayne,  and  the  sight  of 
the  men  in  arms,  their  purpose  and  ar- 
ray, warmed  his  lively  imagination  with 


49 

military  ardor.  With  a  son  of  Colonel 
Wayne,  a  boy  of  his  own  age,  with 
whom  he  had  become  acquainted,  he 
procured  a  gun,  and  determined  also  to 
be  a  soldier.  Younsj  Wavne  was  regu- 

ti 

larly  drilled,  and  he  in  turn  exercised 
West,  who  being  alert  and  active,  soon 
obtained  a  decided  superiority.  But 
what  different  destinies  awaited  them  ! 
West  attained,  in  the  exercise  of  a  peace- 
ful art,  an  enviable  reputation,and  Wayne 
who  was  then  his  inferior  in  military  skill 
became  afterwards  an  illustrious  com- 
mander, and  partook,  with  Washington, 
of  the  glory  of  having  established  the 
Independence  of  America.  West  soon 
after  his  drilling  under  young  Wayne, 
visited  Lancaster;  and  the  boys  of  that 
town  having  formed  themselves  into  a 
little  company,  made  choice  of  him  for  a 
commander.  Among  those  who  caught 

the  military  spirit  was  his  brother  Sam- 
3 


50 

nel,  who  possessed  a  bold  and  enterpris- 
ing disposition.  He  was  six  years  older 
than  Benjamin,  and  was  appointed  Cap- 
tain in  Colonel  Wayne's  army,  under  the 
command  of  General  Forbes,  who  was 
sent  to  repair  the  disasters  which  had 
happened  to  the  unfortunate  Braddock; 
and  to  search  for  the  relics  oi*  his  army. 
As  the  European  soldiers  were  not  so 
well  qualified  to  explore  the  forests,  Capt. 
West  w:as  appointed,  with  his  company 
of  American  sharp-shooters  to  assist  in 
the  execution  of  this  duty,  and  a  party 
of  Indian  warriors  were  requested  to 
conduct  him  to  the  places  where  the 
bones  of  the  slain  were  likely  to  be  found. 
In  this  solemn  and  affecting  duty,  several 
officers  belonging  to  the  British  regiment 
accompanied  the  detachment,  and  with 
them  major  sir  Peter  Halket,  who  had 
lost  his  father  and  brother  in  the  fatal 
destruction  of  the  army.  It  might  have 


61 

been  thought  a  hopeless  task  that  he 
should  have  been  able  to  select  their  re- 
mains from  the  common  relics  of  the 
other  soldiers;  but  he  was  induced  to 
think  otherwise,  as  one  of  the  Indian 
warriors  assured  him  that  he  had  seen  an 
officer  fall  near  a  remarkable  tree,  which 
he  thought  he  could  still  discover,  telling 
him  at  the  same  time,  that  the  incident 
was  impressed  on  his  memory  by  ob- 
serving a  young  soldier,  who  in  running 
to  the  officer's  assistance,  was  also  shot 
dead  on  reaching  the  spot  and  fell  across 
the  other's  body. 

The  major  had  a  painful  conviction 

in  his  own  mind  that   the  two   officers 

were  his  father  and  brother,  and,  indeed, 

it  was  chiefly  owing  to  his  anxiety  on 

the  subject,  that  this  pious  expedition 

was  undertaken.     Capt.  West  and  his 

companions    proceeded     through    the 

woods,  and  along  the  banks  of  the  river 


52 

towards  the  scene  of  battle.  The  In- 
dians regarded  the  expedition  as  a  reli- 
gous  service,  and  guided  the  troops  with 
awe,  and  in  profound  silence.  The  sol- 
diers were  affected  with  sentiments  not 
less  serious,  and  as  they  explored  the 
beu  ildering  mazes  of  those  vast  forests, 
their  hearts  were  often  melted  with  in- 
expressible sorrow,  for  they  frequently 
found  skeletons  lying  across  the  trunks 
of  fallen  trees,  a  mournful  proof  to  their 
imaginations  that  the  men  who  sat  there 
had  perished  of  hunger,  in  vainly  at- 
tempting to  find  their  way  to  the  plan- 
tations. Sometimes  their  feelings  were 
raised  to  the  utmost  pitch  of  horror,  by 
the  sight  of  sculls  and  bones  scattered 
on  the  ground — a  certain  indication  that 
the  bodies  had  been  devoured  by  wild 
beasts;  and  in  other  places  they  saw  the 
blackness  of  ashes  amidst  the  relics — 
the  tremendous  evidence  of  atrocious* 
Indian  rites. 


63 

At  length  they  reached  a  turn  of  the 
river,  not  far  from  the  principal  scene 
of  destruction,  and  the  Indian  who  re- 
membered the  death  of  the  two  officers, 
stopped;  the  detachment  also  halted. 
He  then  looked  round  in  search  of  some 
object,  which  might  recal  distinctly  his 
recollection  of  the  ground,  and  suddenly 
darted  into  the  wood.  The  soldiers 
rested  their  arms  without  speaking.  A 
shrill  cry  was  soon  after  heard,  and  the 
other  guides  made  signs  to  the  troops  to 
follow  them  to  the  spot  from  which  it 
came.  In  the  course  of  a  short  time 
they  reached  the  Indian  warrior,  who 
by  his  cry  had  announced  to  his  compan- 
ions that  he  had  found  the  place  where 
he  was  posted  on  the  day  of  battle.  As 
the  troops  approached,  he  pointed  to  the 
tree  under  which  the  officers  had  fallen. 
Capt.  West  halted  his  men  round  the 
spot,  and  with  Sir  Peter  Halket,  and 


the  other  officers,  formed  a  circle,  while 
the  Indians  removed  the  leaves  which 
thickly  covered  the  ground.  The  skel- 
etons were  found,  as  the  Indian  expect- 
ed, lying  across  each  other.  The  offi- 
cers having  looked  at  them  some  time, 
the  major  said,  that  as  his  father  had 
an  artificial  tooth,  he  thought  he  might 
be  able  to  ascertain  if  they  were  indeed 
his  bones  and  those  of  his  brother.  The 
Indians  were  therefore  ordered  to  re- 
move the  skeleton  of  the  youth,  and  to 
br'mz  to  view  that  of  the  old  officer. 

~ 

This  was  immediately  done,  and  after 
a  short  examination  Major  Halket  ex- 
claimed, 'It  is  my  father,' and  fell  back 
into  the  arms  of  his  companions.  The 
pioneers  then  dug  a  grave,  and  the  bones 
were  laid  in  it  together,  a  highland  plaid 
was  laid  over  them,  and  they  were  in- 
terred with  the  customary  honors. — 
The  gloom  of  the  vast  forest,  the  na- 


55 

ked  and  simple  Indians  supporting  the 
skeletons,  the  grief  of  the  son  on  recog- 
nizing the  relics  of  his  father,  the  sub- 
dued melancholy  of  the  spectators,  and 
the  picturesque  garb  of  the  Pennsylva- 
niaii  sharp  shooters,  were  ever  after 
present  to  the  imagination  of  West  as 
one  of  the  most  affecting  occurrences 
under  which  the  service  was  ever  per- 
formed. 

On  his  return  to  Philadelphia,  he 
again  resided  with  Mr  Clarkson,  his 
brother-in-law,  and  provost  Smith  in 
*he  evenings  continued  to  direct  his 
studies.  While  his  leisure  hours  were 
thus  profitably  employed,  his  reputation 
as  a  portrait  painter  was  rapidly  extend- 
ed, and  he  looked  forward  to  the  time, 
when  he  might  be  enabled,  by  the  fruits 
of  his  own  industry,  to  visit  the  great 
scenes  of  the  tine  arts  in  Europe,  and 
ihe  care  with  which  he  treasured  the 


56 

money  that  he  received  for  bis  portraits, 
was  rewarded  even  at  the  time  with  the 
assurance  of  realizing  his  expectations. 
The  prices  which  he  at  first  fixed  for  his 
portraits,  were  two  guineas  and  a  half  a. 
head,  and  five  guineas  for  a  half  length. 
While  he  was  thus  employed  on  por- 
traits a  gentleman  of  the  name  of  Cox 
called  on  him  to  agree  for  a  likeness  of 
his  daughter,  and  a  portrait  which  West 
had  made  of  his  friend  and  patron,  Dr 
Smith,  attracted  his  attention.  It  ap- 
peared to  him  to  evince  such  a  taste 
for  historical  painting,  that  instead  of 
then  determining  anything  respecting 
his  daughter's  portrait,  he  gave  an  order 
for  an  historical  picture,  allowing  the 
artist  himself  to  choose  the  subject.  He 
made  choice  of  the  trial  of  Susannah ; 
for  in  the  course  of  reading  the  Bible  to 
his  mother  some  time  before,  he  had 
been  led  to  think  the  trial  of  Susannah 


was  a  fine  subject.     He  made  his  can- 
vas about  the  size  of  a  half  length  por- 
trait, on  which  he  introduced  no  fewer 
than    forty   figures.     It   is   not  known 
what   has  become  of  this  painting,  but 
in  point  of  composition,  Mr  West  was 
of  opinion  that,  the  Trial  of  Susannah 
was  superior  to  the  Death  of  Socrates. 
But  although  West  found  himself  con- 
stantly  employed   in   Philadelphia,    he 
was  sensible  that  he  could  not  expect  to 
increase  his  prices,  if  he  continued  con- 
stantly in  the  same  place;  he  was  also 
very  desirous  to  see  more  of  the  world 
and  mankind;  and,  beyond  all,  he  was 
profoundly  sensible,  by  this  time,  that 
he  could  not  hope  to  attain  eminence  in 
his  profession,  without  inspecting  the 
great  masterpieces  of  art  in  Europe,  and 
comparing  them  with  his  own  works,  in 
order  to  ascertain  the  extent  of  his  pow- 
ers.    Accordingly,  impressed  with  these 
3* 


58 

considerations,  he  frugally  treasured  the 
earnings  of  his  pencil,  that  he  might  un- 
dertake, in  the  first  place,  a  profession- 
al journey  from  Philadelphia.  When 
he  found  that  the  state  of  his  funds  en- 
abled him  to  undertake  the  journey,  he 
went  to  New  York.  He  found  society 
there  much  less  intelligent  in  matters 
of  taste  and  knowledge  than  at  Phila- 
delphia. The  population  of  New  York 
was  formed  of  adventurers  from  all 
parts  of  Europe,  who  had  come  thither 
for  the  express  purpose  of  making  mon- 
ey, and  therefore  wholly  devoted  to 
mercantile  pursuits.  Although  West 
found  in  that  city  much  employment  in 
taking  likenesses,  destined  to  be  sent 
across  the  Atlantic  to  relations  and 
friends,  he  met  with  but  few  in  whom 
he  found  any  disposition  and  taste  con- 
genial to  his  own ;  and  the  eleven 
months  which  he  passed  there  contribu- 


59 

ted  less  to  the  improvement  of  his  mind 
than  might  have  been  expected  from  a 
city  so  flourishing. 

In  the  year  1759,  the  harvest  in  Italy 
fell  far  short  of  the  usual  crops,  and  two 
merchants  of  Leghorn  wrote   to  their 
correspondent,  Mr  Allen,  at  Philadel- 
phia, to  send  them  a  cargo  of  wheat  and 
flour.     Provost  Smith  hearing  that  Mr 
Allen  intended  sending  out  his  son  com- 
mander of  the  vessel,  immediately  wait- 
ed on  the  old  gentleman,  and  begged 
him  to  allow  West  to  accompany  him, 
which  he  cheerfully  agreed  to,  and  the 
provost  immediately  wrote  to  his  pupil 
at  New  York  on  the  subject.     In  the 
meantime,  West  had  heard  there  was  a 
vessel  at  Philadelphia  loading  for  Italy, 
and  had  expressed  to  Mr  William  Kelly, 
a  merchant,  who  was  then  sitting  to  him 
for  his  portrait,  a  strong  desire  to  avail 
himself  of  this  opportunity  to  visit  the 


60 

fountain  head  of  the  arts.  Before  this 
period,  he  had  raised  his  terms  for  a  half 
length  portrait  to  ten  guineas,  by  which 
he  acquired  a  sum  of  money  sufficient 
to  defray  the  expenses  of  a  short  excur- 
sion to  Italy.  When  he  had  finished 
Mr  Kelly's  portrait,  that  gentleman,  in 
paying  him,  requested  that  he  would 
take  charge  of  a  letter  to  his  agents  in 
Philadelphia,  and  deliver  it  to  them  him- 
self, on  his  return  to  that  city.  It  stated 
to  the  concern  to  which  it  was  address- 
ed, that  it  would  be  delivered  by  an  in- 
genious young  gentleman,  who  intended 
to  visit  Rome  for  the  purpose  of  studying 
the  fine  arts,  and  ordered  them  to  pay 
him  fifty  guineas  as  a  present  from  him 
towards  furnishing  his  stores  for  the 
voyage  ;  an  instance  of  delicate  munifi- 
cence which  cannot  be  too  highly  ap- 
plauded. The  artist  having  embarked 
with  young  Allen  had  a  speedy  and 


61 

pleasant  passage  to  Gibraltar,  where  in 
consequence  of  the  war  then  raging,  the 
ship  stopped  for  convoy.  After  touch- 
ing at  several  ports  on  the  coast  of 
Spain,  the  ship  arrived  safely  at  Leg- 
horn, where  mercantile  affairs  detained 
Mr  Allen  some  time,  and  West  being 
impatient  to  proceed  to  Rome,  bade 
him  adieu.  Before  his  departure  from 
Philadelphia,  he  had  paid  into  the 
hands  of  old  Mr  Allen  the  money  which 
he  thought  would  be  requisite  for  his 
expenses  in  Italy,  and  had  received 
from  him  a  letter  of  credit  on  Messrs 
Jackson  &,  Rutherford.  When  they 
were  made  acquainted  with  the  object 
of  his  voyage,  and  heard  his  history,  they 
showed  him  a  great  deal  of  attention, 
and  presented  him  with  letters  to  Car- 
dinal Albani,  and  several  of  the  most 
distinguished  characters  for  learning  and 
taste  in  Rome;  and  as  he  was  unacquain- 


62 

ted  with  French  or  Italian,  they  recom- 
mended him  to  the  care  of  a  French 
courier  who  had  occasion  to  pass 
that  way. 

When  the  travellers  had  reached  the 
last  stage  of  their  journey,  while  their 
horses  were  baiting,  West  walked  on 
alone.  It  was  a  beautiful  morning;  the 
air  was  perfectly  placid,  not  a  speck  of 
vapor  in  the  sky,  and  a  profound  tran- 
quillity seemed  diffused  over  the  land- 
scape. The  appearance  of  nature  was 
calculated  to  lighten  and  elevate  the 
spirits;  but  the  general  silence  and  na- 
kedness of  the  scene  touched  the  feel- 
ings with  solemnity  approaching  to  awe. 
He  looked  for  a  spot  to  rest  on,  that  he 
might  contemplate  at  leisure  a  scene  at 
once  so  noble  and  so  interesting  ;  and 
near  a  pile  of  ruins  fringed  and  trellissed 
with  ivy,  he  saw  a  stone  that  appeared 
to  be  a  part  of  a  column.  On  going 


C3  \     / 

towards  it,  he  perceived  that  it  was  a 
mile-stone,  and  that  he  was  then  only 
eight  miles  from  the  capital.  It  was  on 
the  10th  July,  1760,  that  he  arrived  at 
Rome.  The  French  courier  conducted 
him  to  a  hotel,  and  having  mentioned 
in  the  house  that  he  was  an  American, 
and  a  quaker,  come  to  study  the  fine 
arts,  the  circumstance  seemed  so  extra- 
ordinary, that  it  reached  the  ears  of  Mr 
Robinson,  afterwards  Lord  Grantham, 
who  immediately  felt  an  irresistible  de- 
sire to  see  him;  and  who  before  he  had 
time  to  dress  or  refresh  himself,paid  him 
a  visit,  and  insisted  that  he  should  dine 
with  him.  In  the  course  of  dinner,  that 
gentleman  inquired  what  letters  of  in- 
troduction the  artist  had  brought  with 
him,  on  looking  at  them  he  observed 
that  it  was  somewhat  remarkable  that 
the  whole  of  them  should  be  addressed 
to  his  most  particular  friends,  adding 


64 

that  as  he  was  engaged  to  meet  them  at  a 
party  in  the  evening,  he  expected  West 
would  accompany  him.  This  attention 
and  frankness  was  acknowledged  and 
remembered  by  the  artist,  among  those 
fortunate  incidents  which  have  rendered 
the  recollection  of  his  past  life  so  pleas- 
ant as  scarcely  to  leave  a  wish  for  any 
part  of  it  to  have  been  spent  otherwise 
than  it  was.  At  the  hour  appointed, 
Mr  Robinson  conducted  him  to  the 
house  of  Mr  Crispigne,  an  English  gen- 
tleman who  had  long  resided  at  Home, 
where  the  evening  party  was  held. 
Among  the  distinguished  persons  whom 
Mr  West  found  in  the  company, was  the 
celebrated  cardinal  Albani.  His  emi- 
nence, although  quite  blind,  had  acquir- 
ed, by  the  exquisite  delicacy  of  his 
touch,  and  the  combining  powers  of  his 
mind,  such  a  sense  of  ancient  beauty 
that  he  excelled  all  virtuosi  then  in 
Rome. 


65 

Mr  Robinson  conducted  the  artist  to 
the  inner  apartment,  where  the  cardinal 
was  sitting,  and  said,  '  I  have  the  honor 
to  present  a  young  American,  who  has  a 
letter  of  introduction  to  your  eminence, 
and  who  has  come  to  Italy  for  the  pur- 
pose of  studying  the  fine  arts.  The  car- 
dinal fancying  that  the  American  must 
be  an  Indian,  exclaimed,  'Is  he  black  or 
white  r'  and  on  being  told  that  he  was 
very  fair,  'What  as  fair  as  I  am?'  cried  the 
cardinal  still  more  surprised.  This  lat- 
ter expression  excited  a  good  deal  of 
mirth  at  the  cardinal's  expense,  for  his 
complexion  was  of  the  darkest  Italian 
olive,  and  West's  was  uncommonly  fair. 
The  cardinal,  after  some  other  short 
questions,  invited  West  to  come  near 
him,  and  running  his  hands  over  his 
features,  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
company  to  the  stranger,  by  the  admi- 
ration he  expressed  at  the  form  of  his 


head.  This  occasioned  inquiries  re- 
specting the  youth;  and  the  Italians 
concluding,  that  as  he  was  an  American, 
he  must,  of  course,  have  been  brought 
up  as  a  savage,  became  curious  to  wit- 
nes  the  effect  which  the  works  of  art 
contained  in  the  Belvidere  and  Vatican, 
would  produce  on  him.  The  whole 
company,  which  consisted  of  the  prin- 
cipal Roman  nobility,  and  strangers  of 
distinction  then  in  Rome,  were  interest- 
ed in  the  event;  and  it  was  arranged 
that  on  the  following  morning  they 
should  accompany  Mr  Robinson  and 
his  protege  to  the  palaces.  At  the 
hour  appointed  the  company  assembled; 
and  a  procession,  consisting  of  upwards 
of  thirty  of  the  most  magnificent  equi- 
pages in  the  city,  and  filled  with  some 
of  the  most  learned  characters  in  Eu- 
rope, conducted  the  young  quaker  to 
view  the  master-pieces  of  art.  It  was 


67 

agreed  that  the  statue  of  Apollo  should 
be  first  submitted  to  his  view,  because 
it  was  the  most  perfect  work  among  all 
the  ornaments  of  Rome,  and  of  course, 
the  best  calculated  to  produce  that  ef- 
fect, which  the  company  were  anxious 
to  witness.  The  statue  then  stood  in 
a  case,  enclosed  with  doors,  which  could 
be  so  opened  as  to  disclose  it  at  once  to 
full  view.  West  was  placed  in  a  situa- 
tion where  it  was  seen  to  the  most  ad- 
vantage, and  the  spectators  arranged 
themselves  on  each  side.  When  the 
keeper  threw  open  the  doors,  the  artist 
felt  himself  surprised  by  a  sudden  recol~,« 
lection,  and  without  being  aware  of  the 
force  of  wliflt  lie  said,  exclaimed,  '  My 
God,  how  like  it  is  to  a  young  Mohawk 
warrior  !'  The  Italians,  observing  his 
surprise,  and  hearing  but  not  under- 
standing the  exclamation,  requested  Mr 
Robinson  to  translate  to  them,  what  he 


68 

said;  and  they  were  excessively  morti- 
fied to  find  that  the  god  of  their  idolatry 
was  compared  to  a  savage.  Mr  Rob- 
inson mentioned  to  West  their  disap- 
pointment, and  asked  him  to  give  some 
explanation,  by  telling  them  what  sort 
of  people  the  Mohawk  Indians  were. 
He  described  to  them  their  education, 
their  dexterity  with  the  bow  and  arrow; 
the  admirable  elasticity  of  their  limbs; 
and  how  much  their  active  life  expands 
the  chest,  while  the  quick  breathing  of 
their  speed  in  the  chase,  dilates  the 
nostrils  with  that  apparent  consciousness 
of  vigor  which  is  so  nobly  depicted  in 
the  Apollo.  '  I  have  seen  them  often,' 
added  he,  '  standing  in  that  very  atti- 
tude, and  pursuing,  with  an  intense  eye, 
the  arrow  which  they  had  just  discharg- 
ed from  the  bow.'  This  explanation 
did  not  lose,  by  Mr  Robinson's  transla- 
tion, and  the  Italians  were  delighted, 


69 

saying  that  a  better  criticism  had  rarely 
been  pronounced  on  the  merits  of  the 
statue.  a 

The  view  of  the  other  Threat  works 

~ 

of  art  did  not  awaken  the  same  viv- 
id feelings.  In  the  evening,  after  visit- 
ing the  palaces,  Mr  Robinson  carried 
Mr  West  to  see  a  grand  religfeus  cere- 
mony in  one  of  the  churches.  Before 
this,  he  had  been  acquainted  only  with 
me  simple  worship  of  the  quakers. 
The  pomp  of  the  Roman  Catholic^ere- 
monies  was  as  much  beyond  his  com- 
prehension, as  the  overpowering  excel- 
lence of  the  music  surpassed  his  utmost 
expectations.  Undoubtedly  he  posses- 
sed a  keen  relish  for  the  spectacles  and 
amusements  Wf  Rome,  arising  from  the 
simplicity  of  his  education  and  habits. 
But  neither  the  Apollo,  the  Vatican,  nor 
the  pomp  of  the  catholic  religion,  excit- 
ed his  feelings  to  so  great  a  degree,  as 


70 

the  spectacle  which  presented  itself  to 
his  view  around  the  portico  of  the 
church.  Bred  in  the  universal  prosper- 
ity of  Pennsylvania,  where  the  benev- 
olent were  employed  in  acts  of  hospitali- 
ty and  mutual  kindness,  he  had  never 
witnessed  any  spectacle  of  beggary,  nor 
ha4  he  giver  heard  the  name  of  God  ut- 
tered fb  urge  an  entreaty  for  alms. 
Here,  however  all  the  lazars  and  the 
wretched  of  Rome  were  collected  *t£ 
getfeih,  hundreds  of  young  and  old  in 
that  extreme  squalor,  nakedness  and 
disease,  were  seen  on  all  sides,  and 
their  importunities  and  cries,  '  for  the 
love  of  God,  and  the  mercy  of  Christ !' 
to  relieve  them,  thrilled  in  his  ears,  and 
smote  upon  his  heart  to  ™ch  a  degree, 
that  his  joints  became  as  it  were  loosen- 
ed, and  his  legs  scarcely  able  to  support 
him.  As  they  returned  from  the  church,a 
woman  somewhat  advanced  in  life,  and 


71 

of  a  better  appearance  than  most  of  the 
beggars,  followed  them,  and  Mr  West 
gave  her  a  small  piece  dl  coj$per  mon- 
ey, the  first  Roman  coin  which  he  had 

jtf^B 

received  in  change,  and  the  value  of 
which  was  unknown  to  mjm.  Shortly 
afterward,  they  were  joined%.by  some 
of  the  Italians,  whom  they  ha^een  in 
the  morning,  and  while  they  were  con- 
versing together,  he  felt  some  one  pull 
Iris  coat,  and  turned  round.  It  was  the 
poor  woman  to  whom  he  had  givefn  the 
piece  of  copper  money.  She  held  out 
in  her  hand  several  smaller  pieces;  as 
he  did  not  understand  her  language,  he 
concluded  that  she  was  chiding  him  for 
Ifaving  given  her  such  a  trifle,  and  col- 
ored deeply^vith  the  idea.  His  Eng- 
lish friend  observing  his  confusion,  in- 
quired what  he  had  given  her,  and  he 
answered  that  he  did  not  know,  but  it 
was  a  piece  of  money,  he  had  receiv- 


72 

ed  in  change.     Robinson  after  a  short 

' 
conversation  with  the  beggar,  told   Mr 

West  the*  sheHiad  asked  him  for  a  far- 
thing, *But  a^  you  gave  her  a  two  pen- 
ny piecg,'  said  he, '  she  has  brought  you 
the  change.'  This  instance  of  humble 
honesty,  contrasted  with  the  awful  mass 
of  nrisej^with  which  it  was  united,  gave 
him  a  favorable  idea  of  the  latent  segti- 
ments  of  the  Italians. 

At  this  time  Mengs  (a  famous  Ital- 
ian artist)  was  in  the  height  of  his  pop- 
ularity, and  West  was  introduced  to  him 

at  the  cardinal's  villa.     He  was  as  much 

• 

struck  as  any  other  person,  with  the 
extraordinary  circumstance  of  an  Amer- 
ican coming  to  study  the  .fine  arts:  and 
begged  that  Mr  West  would  show  him 
a  specimen  of  his  drawing.  In  return- 
ing home  our  artist  mentioned  to  Mr 
Robinson  that  as  he  had  never  learned 
to  draw,  he  could  not  produce  any 


73 

sketch  like  those  made  by  other  stu- 
dents; but  that  he  could  paint  a  little, 
and  if  Mr  Robinson  »would  take  the 
trouble  to  sit,  he  would  execute  his  por- 
trait to  show  to  Mengs^1  The  proposal 
was  readily  acceded  to,  and  it  was  also 
agreed,  that  except  to  two  of  their  most 
intimate  acquaintances,  the  undertaking 
should  be  kept  a  profo  nd  secret. 
When  the  picture  was  finished,  it  did 
him  great  credit,  but  before  showing  it 
to  Mengs,  it  was  resolved  that  the  taste 
and  judgment  of  the  public,  with  re- 
spect to  its  merits,  should  be  ascertain- 
ed. 

Mr  Crespigne,  one  of  the  two  friends 
entrusted  with  the  secret,  lived  as  a  Ro- 
man gentleman,  and  twice  a  year  gave 
a  grand  assembly  at  his  house,  to  which 
all  the  nobility  and  strangers  of  distinc- 
tion, in  Rome,  were  invited.  It  was 
agreed  that  the  portrait  should  be  ex- 
4 


74 

hibited  at  one  of  his  parties,  which  hap- 
pened to  take  place  soon  after  it  was 
finished.  A  suitable  frame  being  provid- 
ed, the  painting  was  hung  up  in  one 
of  the  rooms.  The  first  guests  who 
arrived  were  amateurs  and  artists,  and 
as  they  knew  that  Robinson  was  sitting 
to  Mengs  for  his  portrait,  it  was  at  once 
thought  to  be  that  picture,  and  they 
agreed  that  they  had  never  seen  any 
painting  of  that  artist  so  well  colored. 
As  the  guests  assembled  the  portrait  be- 
came more  and  more  the  subject  of  at- 
tention, and  Mr  West  sat  behind  on  a 
sofa,  equally  agitated  and  delighted  by 
their  observations,  which  Mr  Robinson 
reported  to  him  from  time  to  time.  Mr 
Crespigne  seizing  the  proper  moment 
in  their  conversation  to  produce  the 
effect  intended,  said  '  The  picture  is 
not  painted  by  Mengs.'  'By  whom 
then  ?'  vociferated  every  voice,  l  for 


75 

there  is  no  other  painter  now  in  Rome 
capable  of  executing  anything  so  good.' 
*  By  that  young  gentleman  there,'  said 
Mr  Crespigne,  turning  to  West.  At 
once  all  eyes  were  bent  towards  him, 
and  the  Italians,  in  their  way,  ran  and 
embraced  him.  Thus  did  the  best  judg- 
es at  once,  by  this  picture,  acknow- 
ledge him  as  only  second  in  his  art  to 
the  first  painter  then  in  Rome.  Mengs 
himself,  on  seeing  the  picture,  expressed 
his  opinion  in  terms  that  did  honor  to 
his  liberality,  and  gave  the:?artist  an  ad- 
vice which  he  never  forgot,  nor  remem- 
bered without  gratitude. 

He  told  him  the  portrait  showed,  that 
he  had  no  occasion  to  learn  to  paint  at 
Rome — '  You  have  already,  sir,'  said 
he,  '  the  mechanical  part  of  your  art: 
what  I  would  therefore  recommend  to 
you,  is  to  see  and  examine  everything 
deserving  of  attention  here,  and  after 


70 

making  a  few  drawings  of  about  half  a 
dozen  of  the  best  statues.  2:0  to  Florence, 
and  observe  what  has  been  done  by  art 
in  the  collections  there,  then  proceed 
to  Bologna  and  study  the  works  of  Ca- 
racca;  afterwards  visit  Parma,  and  ex- 
amine, attentively,  the  pictures  of  Cor- 
regio;  and  then  go  to  Venice  and  view 
the  productions  of  the  great  master* 
there.  When  you  have  made  this  tour, 
come  back  to  Rome,  and  paint  an  his- 
torical composition,  to  be  exhibited  to 
the  RomarMKpublic;  and  the  opinion 
which  will  then  be  formed  of  your  tal- 
ents, should  determine  the  line  of  our 
profession  you  ou»ht  to  follow.'  This 
judicious  advice,  West  found  accord  so 
w:ell  with  his  own  reflections  and  prin- 
ciples, that  he  resolved  to  follow  it  with 
care  and  attention.  But  the  thought  of 
being  in  Rome,  and  the  constant  excite- 
ment arising  from  extraordinary  and  in- 


77 

tcresting  objects,  so  affected  his  mind, 
accustomed  to  the  sober  and  un'.form 
habits  of  the  quakers,  that  si  <-p  desert- 
ed his  pillow,  and  he  became  ill,  and 
constantly  feverish.  The  public  took 
:  n  interest  in  his  situation.  A  consul- 
tation of  the  best  physicians  in  Rome 
was  held  on  his  case,  the  result  of  which 
was  a  formal  communication  to  Mr  Rob- 
inson, that  his  friend  must  immediately 
quit  the  capital,  and  seek  relief  in  quiet 
and  retirement.  Accordingly  on  the 
20th  of  August  he  returned  to  Leghorn. 

Messrs  Jackson  and  Rutherford,  re- 
ceived him  into  their  own  house,  and 
treated  him  with  a  degree  of  kindness 
and  hospitality  that  merits  for  them  the 
honor  of  being  considered  among  the 
number  of  his  early  patrons. 

His  mind  being  thus  relieved  from  the 
restless  delight  which  he  felt  at  Rome, 
together  with  the  bracing  effect  of  sea- 


78 

bathing,  he  was  soon  in  a  condition  to 
resume  his  study  in  the  Capital.  But  the 
same  overpowering  excitement  of  his 
feelings  and  imagination,  soon  produced 
a  relapse  of  his  former  disorder,  and  com- 
pelled him  to  return  to  I  .eghorn,  where 
he  was  again  speedily  cured  of  his  fever, 
but  it  left  him  with  a  painful  affection  in 
the  ankle,  that  threatened  the  loss  of  the 
limb.  An  eminent  surgeon,  who  had 
introduced  many  improvements  in  the 
treatment  of  diseased  joints,  was  at  this 
period  resident  in  Florence,  and  Messrs 
Jackson  and  Rutherford  wrote  to  Sir 
Horace  Mann,  then  British  minister  at 
the  ducal  court,  to  consult  him  rela- 
tive to  the  case  of  Mr  West:  his  answer 
induced  them  to  advise  the  artist  to  go  to 
Florence.  After  a  painful  period  of 
eleven  months  confinement  to  his  couch 
and  chamber,  he  was  perfectly  and  rad- 
ically cured.  A  state  of  pain  and  disease 
4* 


79 

is  adverse  to  mental  improvement;  but 
there  were  intervals  in  which  Mr  West 
felt  his  anguish  abate,  and  in  which  he 
was  not  only  able  to  join  in  the  conver- 
sation of  the  gentleman  to  whom  he  had 
been  recommended,  but  was  able,  occa- 
sionally, to  exercise  his  pencil.  When 
he  was  so  far  recovered  as  to  be  able  to 
take  exercise,  and'  to  endure  the  fatigue 
of  travelling,  a  circumstance  happened 
which  may  be  numbered  among  the  many 
fortunate  accidents  of  his  professional 
career.  Mr  Mathews,  the  manager  of 
the  important  commercial  concerns  of 
Messrs  Jackson  and  Rutherford  was  one 
of  those  singular  men,  very  rarely  met 
with  in  mercantile  life,  combining  the 
highest  degree  of  literary  and  elegant 
accomplishments,  with  the  best  talents 
lor  active  business.  Affairs  connected 
with  the  business  of  the  house,  and  a 
wish  to  see  the  principal  cities  of  Italy, 


led  Mr  Mathevvs  about  the  period  of  Mr 
West's  recovery,  to  visit  Florence,  and  it 
was  agreed  between  them  that  they 
should  together  make  the  tour  recom- 
mended by  Mengs.  In  the  mean  time 
the  good  fortune  of  West  was  working 
to  happy  effects  in  another  part  of  the 
world.  The  story  of  Mr  Robinson's 
portrait  had  made  so  great  a  noise  among 
the  travellers  in  Italy,  that  Messrs  Jack- 
son and  Rutherford,  in  sending  back  the 
ship  to  Philadelphia  mentioned  it  in 
their  letters  to  Mr  Allen.  It  happened 
that  on  the  very  day  this  letter  reached 
Mr  Allen,  Mr  Hamilton,  then  governor 
of  Pennsylvania,  and  the  principal  mem- 
bers of  the  government,  along  with  the 
most  considerable  citizens  of  Philadel- 
phia were  dining  with  him.  After  dinner 
Mr  Allen  read  the  letter  to  the  company, 
and  mentioned  the  amount  of  the  sum 
of  money  which  West  had  paid  into 


his  hands,  at  the  period  of  his  departure 
from  America,  adding  that  it  must  be 
pretty  far  reduced.  13 ut,  said  he  with 
warmth,  '  I  regard  this  joung  man  as  an 
honor  to  die  country,  and  as  he  is  the  first 
that  America  has  sent  to  cultivate  the 
fine  arts,  he  shall  not  he  frustrated  in 
his  studies,  for  I  have  resolved  to  write 
to  my  correspondents  at  Leghorn,  to 
give  him  from  myself,  whatever  money 
he  may  require.'  Mr  Hamilton  felt  the 
force  of  this  generous  declaration,  and 
said  with,  equal  animation,  '  I  think  ex- 
actly-as  you  do,  sir,  hutyou  shall  not  have 
all  the  honor  of  it,  to  yourself,  and, 
therefore,  I  beg  that  you  will  consider 
me,  as  joining  you  in  the  responsibility 
of  the  credit.'  The  consequence  of  this 
%\  as,  that  upon  West's  going,  previously 
to  leaving  Florence,  to  take  a  small  sum 
of  about  len  pounds  from  the  bankers,  a 
letter  was  brought  in  while  he  was  wait- 


82 

ing  for  his  money,  and  the  gentleman 
who  opened  it,  said  to  him,  '  that  the 
contents  of  the  letter  would  probably 
afford  him  unexpected  pleasure,  as  it 
iustructed  him  to  give  him  unlimited 
credit.'  A  more  splendid  instance  of  li- 
berality is  not  to  he  found  even  in  the 
records  of  Florence. 

From  Florence  the  artist  proceeded 
to  Bologna,  and  having  stayed  some 
time  there,  carefully  inspecting  every 
work  of  celebrity  to  which  he  could  ob- 
tain access,  he  went  on  to  Venice,  vis- 
iting in  his  route  all  the  objects  which 
Mengs  had  recommended  to  his  atten- 
tion. 

Having  completed  his  tour  to  the 
most  celebrated  repositories  of  art  in  It- 
aly, and  enriched  his  mind  and  improv- 
ed his  taste  by  the  perusal,  rather  than 
the  imitation  of  their  best  pieces,  he 
returned  to  Rome,  and  applied  himself 


33 

to  a  minute  and  assiduous  study  of  the 
great  ornaments  of  that  capital.  In  the 
meantime  West  was  carefully  furnish- 
ing his  mind  by  an  attentive  study  of 
the  costume  of  antiquity,  and  the  beau- 
ties of  the  great  works  of  modern  gen- 
ius. In  doing  this,  he  regarded  Rome 
only  as  a  university,  in  which  he  should 
graduate ;  and,  preparatory  to  taking 
his  degree  among  the  students,  he 
painted  a  picture  of  Cimon  and  Iphige- 
nia,  and,  likewise  another  of  Angelica 
and  Madora.  The  applause  which 
they  received  justified  the  opinion  which 
Mengs  had  so  early  expressed  of  his 
talent,  and  certainly  answered  every 
object  for  which  they  were  composed. 
He  was  honored  in  consequence,  with 
the  marks  of  academical  approbation, 
usually  bestowed  on  fortunate  artists. 
He  then  proposed  to  return  to  America, 
with  a  view  to  cultivate  in  his  native 


84 

| 

country  that  profession,  in, which  he  had 
already  acquired  so  much  celebrity. 
At  this  juncture  he  received  a  letter 
from  his  father,  advising  him  to  go  home 
for  a  short  time  before  coming  to  Amer- 
ica ;  for  the  mother  country  was  at  that 
period  still  regarded  as  the  home  of  her 
American  offspring.  The  advice  of  his 
father  was  in  unison  with  his  own 
wishes.  He  could  hardly  have  resolved 
on  quitting  Italy  more  opportunely,  for 
Dr  Patonne,  a  Scottish  gentleman,  of 
considerable  learning,  and  some  taste 
in  painting,  was  then  returning  home- 
ward, and  waiting  at  that  time  in  Rome, 
until  he  should  be  able  to  meet  with  a 
companion.  It  was  therefore  agreed 
that  West  should  be  introduced  to  him; 
and  it  was  soon  after  arranged  that  the 
doctor  should  proceed  to  Florence, 
while  the  artist  went  to  take  leave  of 
his  friends  at  Leghorn,  to  express  to 


85 

them  his  gratitude  for  their  constant 
and  extraordinary  kindness,  which  he 
estimated  too  highly  to  allow  him  to 
think  of  leaving  Italy,  without  perform- 
ing this  pleasing  and  honorable  pilgrim- 
age, ft  was  also  agreed  between  him 
and  his  companion,  that  the  doctor 
should  stop  a  short  time  at  Parma,  until 
West  should  have  completed  a  copy  of 
the  St  Jerome  of  Corregio,  which  he 
had  begun  during  his  visit  to  that  city 
with  Mr  Mathews. 

During  their  stay  at  Parma,  the  acade- 
my elected  him  a  member,  an  honor 
which  the  academies  of  Florence  and 
Bologna  had  previously  conferred  on 
Mr  West;  and  it  was  mentioned  to  the 
prince  that  a  young  American  had  made 
a  copy  of  the  St  Jerome  of  Corregio, 
in  a  style  of  excellence  such  as  the  old- 
est academicians  had  not  witnessed. 
The  prince  expressed  a  wish  to  see  this 


86 

extraordinary  artist,  particularly  when 
he  heard  that  he  was  from  Pennsylvania 
and  a  quaker.  Mr  West  was  accor- 
dingly informed  that  a  visit  from  him 
would  be  acceptable  at  court;  and  it 
was  arranged  that  he  should  be  intro- 
duced to  his  highness  by  the  chief  min- 
ister. Mr  West  thought  that,  in  a  mat- 
ter of  this  kind,  he  should  regulate  his 
behnviour  by  what  he  understood  to  be 
the  practice  in  the  court  of  London; 
and  accordingly,  to  the  astonishment 
of  all  the  courtiers,  he  ke  t  his  hat  on 
during  the  audience.  This  however, 
instead  of  offending  the  prince,  was  ob- 
served with  client  pleasure,  and  made 
his  reception  more  particular  and  dis- 
tinguished; for  his  highness  had  heard 
of  the  peculiar  simplicity  of  the  quakers, 
and  of  the  singularly  Christian  conduct 
and  principles  of  William  Perm. 

From  Parma  he  proceeded  to  Genoa, 


87 

and  thence  to  Turin;  they  then  proceed- 
ed to  France,  but  remained  no  longer  in 
Paris  than  was  necessary  to  inspect  the 
principal  works  of  the  French  artists, 
and  the  royal  collections.  Mr  West, 
however,  continued  long  enough  to  be 
satisfied,  that  the  true  feeling  for  the 
fine  arts  did  not  exist  among  the  French 
to  that  degree  he  had  observed  in  Italy. 
He  next  proceeded  to  England,  where 
we  must  reluctantly  leave  him — as  this 
memoir  was  compiled  from  materials 
furnished  by  himself,  and  was  intended 
to  embrace  only  that  period  of  his  life, 
previous  to  his  visiting  England.  The 
professional  life  of  Mr  \Yest  constitutes 
an  important  part  of  an  historical  work, 
in  which  the  matter  of  this  volume  could 
not  have  been  well  introduced.  Mr 
West,  in  relating  the  circumstances  by 
which  he  was  led  to  understand,  with- 
out the  aid  of  an  instructor,  those  rules 


88 

of  art,  which  it  is  the  object  of  schools 
and  academies  to  teach  and  diffuse, 
has  conferred  a  greater  benefit  on  young 
artists  than  he  could  possibly  have  done 
by  the  most  ingenious  and  eloquent 
lectures  on  the  theory  of  his  profession; 
and  it  \vas  necessary  that  the  narrative 

*/ 

should  appear  in  his  own  life  time,  in 
order  that  thq  truth  of  the  incidents  re- 
lated might  not  rest  on  the  authority  of 
any  biographer. 


-  -  .-    '•  ..•:.; 


JB  LIB  RARE 


